FSA-Eligible Dental Care Options
The holiday season is fast approaching, but before you get to the business of relaxing and enjoying it, don’t forget about the other important thing that happens at this time every year: the expiration of your flexible spending account (FSA). An FSA account is a payroll tax-free health care spending account you can use for one calendar year to pay for things like doctor copays, prescription medications, medical procedures, eyewear and some dental services and products. These accounts are great for families and people with lots of medical expenses, but the downside is if you don’t use it, you lose it. This may not seem so awful until you consider that the money that vanished with the old year was money you earned - so you’ve essentially thrown away your hard-earned money, simply because you didn’t spend it.
But don’t panic - if it’s late December and you’ve still got an FSA balance, you don’t need to run out and break a few limbs to use that money. You can use it on a variety of procedures as well as over-the-counter products at your local pharmacy, supermarket or discount store. Here are some great oral health options for using up the last of your FSA money before it goes out of style like 2017.
General Dental Care
Want to start 2018 with a clean slate and a clean mouth? Schedule a cleaning and use some of your FSA on copays. Hopefully you won’t have any cavities, but if you do, you can use FSA for that too. Been putting off getting sealants? Now is the time, because FSA covers sealants. You can even use it for veneers, crowns, retainers and mouth guards, and some plans may even cover orthodontic work. Do you use prescription mouthwash or toothpaste? You can stock up on that with your FSA money, too!
Dentures
If you need new dentures or it's time to finally get a partial or full set of dentures, your FSA can be used to pay for it. Though you may not have enough time to have your dentures in hand by the stroke of midnight on January 1, you can still use this year’s FSA funds to order them.
Dental Implants
Not interested in wearing dentures or partials? You can also use your FSA toward dental implants.
Over-the-Counter Products
You can use your FSA account to pay for over-the-counter products such as denture cream, filling repair kits and tooth-numbing medications like Oragel.
Now, the Bad News
There are plenty of things you cannot use your FSA money on. Tooth-whitening kits, cosmetic whitening procedures, over-the-counter toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, denture cleanser and mouthwash are all FSA ineligible.
If you have any questions about whether or not a procedure at Dr. Lederman’s office is covered by FSA or to set up an appointment, give us a call at 516-221-7475.
